WEATHER
Rain forecast
Two tropical disturbances are set to bring rain to parts of the nation from today, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said. As a depression east of the Philippines approaches Taiwan, it is expected to bring rain to the northern, north coastal, southern and eastern parts of the country from today until Tuesday, the bureau said. Meanwhile, a second tropical disturbance in the South China Sea could develop into a tropical storm today, but it would not have a direct impact on Taiwan, it added. The east and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) would begin to see rain from today, while Keelung, as well as the southern and eastern half of Taiwan, should brace for showers or intermittent rain from tomorrow through Tuesday, it said.
CRIME
Davis charged over incident
P.League+ basketball player Quincy Davis was yesterday charged with physically harming his ex-wife in May, the Taoyuan Districts Prosecutors’ Office said. Davis had an altercation with his ex-wife, who was holding a small child at the time, in front of a police station on May 12 over childcare issues, the indictment read. The two scuffled, which left scratches on both arms of Davis’ ex-wife. The player was charged with “offense of causing injury” under the Criminal Code, the indictment said. The the Criminal Code stipualtes that a person who “causes injury to another” can be jailed for up to five years or be fined up to NT$500,000. Prosecutors did not charge Davis with violating a restraining order for him to stay away from his ex-wife. Prosecutors checked police records and found that the order had not been delivered to him.
CRIME
Raphael Lin loses appeal
The High Court on Thursday rejected an appeal from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu’s (高嘉瑜) ex-boyfriend Raphael Lin (林秉樞), who was last year sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison for 13 offenses, including domestic violence. The High Court rejected the appeals lodged by Lin and prosecutors against a ruling by the New Taipei City District Court, saying the previous ruling was “not improper.” In September last year, Lin was found guilty of coercion, intimidation and committing bodily harm against Kao, as well as slander and maliciously spreading information using the lawmaker’s computer. Lin was also convicted of falsifying bank records, and violating Kao’s privacy and personal freedoms while they were dating. Prosecutors accused Lin of using violence against Kao and restricting her movements. The High Court’s decision is final for four of Lin’s convictions, while the remaining nine are subject to appeal.
CULTURE
Digital exhibition at museum
The National Palace Museum (NPM) is holding a “digital exhibition” of Chinese landscape paintings and other artworks by Jesuit missionary and painter Giuseppe Castiglione until Oct. 4. Titled “Immerse Yourself in the NPM Digital Exhibition: Journey Through the Four Seasons,” the exhibition features two animations created using the paintings on display, which are projected onto a 360-degree screen, creating an immersive viewing experience for visitors, the museum said on Thursday. Born in Milan, Italy, Castiglione became a missionary and went to China, where he was elected as a court painter for emperor Kangxi (康熙) in Beijing. His paintings are widely described as a fusion of Eastern and Western styles.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of